Performer: Yan Pascal Tortelier

A bold programme from an orchestra with a bold sound as the ISO trails in the wake of Storm Ciara on its debut UK tour. 

Korngold's Violin Concerto from Simone Lamsma is delivered with extraordinary deftness and depth, while Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances thrill under Yan Pascal Tortelier and the Pittsburgh Symphony.

Breezy Ravel from Steven Osborne and a clear warning about the dangers of drug-taking from the BBCSSO at Sage Gateshead.

The Iceland Symphony Orchestra's tour to the acoustically excellent Göteborgs konserthus in Sweden for a concert of Sibelius, Strauss and Thorvaldsdóttir was an obvious success, demonstrating an orchestral sound that deserves to be heard abroad more often. 

With Penderecki conducting his own work, this concert demonstrated the possibilities of orchestral colour filtered through a post-Romantic lens, but was confronted with issues of balance and refinement.

If every workplace could undergo a team-building exercise like Lutosławski’s Concerto for Orchestra, the world would be a happier place. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra’s performance under Yan Pascal Tortelier was unbelievably energetic.

A focus on Nordic composers, including Anna Thorvaldsdottir, marks Yan Pascal Tortelier’s first season at the helm in Iceland.